The Exchange
He opted to travel alone tonight. Hisashi, the leader of the underground organization Yorudō, was doing the work of an agent. Yes, it would be lowly of him to do so, but this was a crucial meeting, for a rather nice paycheck, so he wanted to make sure that this transaction went smoothly. He lamented the failure of the Yorudō to obtain the information necessary for them to be rewarded with money from its previous big-money contract, Konohagakure. The objective was the original Akatsuki, but they were too elusive for the Yorudō to uncover any bits of information worth noting. But this time, it was a company contract. A simple economic rivalry, to be more precise. Hisashi cared little for the reasons for this particular contract, since it did not concern him. In the back alleys of Shukuba Town was the location, and that was where he was headed, only visibly armed with a manila folder. He was indeed armed with other such equipment, though his cloak prevented any of that to be easily seen. He might have been raised as a civilian, but he has the training and skill of a ninja. There was only one other in the meeting location, as expected. He had a suitcase with him, also as expected. No words were needed, as the other man opened the suitcase to reveal stacked bundles of yen that filled the case's entirety. The manila folder was opened by Hisashi, sliding out the papers within that detailed secrets of the victimized company. The exchanged was made, and both went their own ways. Shokujin hated troublesome situations, however, the mission he'd been assigned was part of his responsibility as a Konoha shinobi. He'd been ordered to hunt down and track members of Yorudō, who had been in a contract with the village a few years prior with gathering intel on the previous Akatsuki. With Tsukiakari rising, Shokujin needed to make sure that one, no information Yorudō had on Konoha was leaked, and two, to capture intel that the organization may still have on the old Akatsuki. Shokujin was hidden among that shadows on top of a nearby building in the village, watching Hisashi's movements. He slowly slid a kunai out of the pouch on his waist and gripped it tight in his hand as the two men in the alley parted ways. "I'll have to discover the details that is on those papers later. My top priority is Hisashi." he thought to himself, as he inched along the buildings following the Yorudō member. The attack It was dark out, so Hisashi was going to spend the night at one of the town's hotels. He made his way over there, walking softly but with purpose. The meeting went much smoother than he thought it would, and quicker. He'll leave in the morning, to return to headquarters with the money. But for now, it was relaxation and refreshment from the atmosphere of the Yorudō HQ. Shokujin wasn't far behind. He waited for Hisashi to go into the hotel before setting up several of his traps around the perimeter. He formed the dog and tiger hand seal, as well as silently muttering something under his breath. With his preparations in place, he took out a kunai and attached a fake explosive tag to it, and then tossed it at the window of Hisashi's room. The sound of breaking glass alerted Hisashi to the apparent danger, and he instinctively leaped backward, away from the kunai that embedded itself into the wall close by. The tag on the kunai did not start to smoke, indicating its false status. So much for a flawless night, he lamented as he eyed the kunai. He formed a rat seal, manipulating his shadow to quickly douse the lights in his room, carefully timed to turn off all of the lights at once. To the eyes of an outsider, it would be difficult to determine how the lights were turned off, in order to preserve Hisashi's secrecy. Without a source of illumination within his location, Hisashi took to the shadows and waited. Shokujin narrowed his eyes, mulling over his strategy. He hid himself in a nearby dumpster and then took out a scroll. Upon opening it, there was a puff of smoke before the appearance of a puppet. He formed a seal and whispered, "Mind Puppet Switch Cursed Seal Technique.." as his transfered his spirit into the puppet's body. Then, as the puppet, he leaped out of the dumpster, leaving his body hidden, as he ventured back to the hotel. The puppet leaped through the broken window and lashed out at the shadows. The puppet was instantly pounced on by a flurry of kunai, thrown from Hisashi's hiding place. To strike the shadows was foolish, as a miss left it wide open to assault. Immediately after the kunai were thrown, Hisashi moved to relocate, pulling out another kunai to defend himself with. Both of his hands were clenched tight as he watched the puppet at the window. The moon's light indicated a humanoid form for sure, though a more clear idea of his assailant was difficult to determine. "Tch...that's gonna hurt later..." Shokujin thought from within the puppet. "However, I sense his chakra now." The puppet's chest opened up and several shuriken flew out in the direction of the chakra signature. The puppet then rushed forward in that direction. Dammit, Hisashi thought as the puppet shot straight towards him. It came as a surprise, since he was not emitting any sort of chakra, but he was prepared for this kind of move. He threw his kunai straight at the puppet, with a small ball on a string attached to the handle, though missing. Sweat beaded down his face as the puppet closed the distance between itself and him. He placed his hands in a hand seal, closing his eyes and channeling chakra for his technique. The rapid steps of the puppet approaching was how he was judging its distance from himself, and waited. The puppet continued to close it's distance, "His chakra flared....what is he up to..? I have limited chakra in this body. Most of it is back in my real body. If I do the Mind Body Switch Technique now, at such range, I might miss and go back to my real body. Still, if I take any more injuries in this body, I'll be unable to defend myself..this is a risk I've gotta take." he thought quickly as he closed the gap, "NOW! Mind Body Switch Technique!" he focused as his spirit was suddenly projected at the Hisashi in an attempt to force Hisashi's mind into the puppet's body, and Shokujin's mind into Hisashi's body. What, a Yamanaka?! Hisashi thought, but he had little time to think past it. The movement of one's psyche is slow when being transferred from one body to another, so moving quickly would allow him to counter the technique. Any second now... The kunai that missed Shokujin's puppet made a strange whirring sound as the ball attached to it lit up, and exploded with light. As the flash bang's effects faded, Hisashi's presence changed location. Shadow Flicker Technique. Since Hisashi missed Shokujin's puppet on an angle, the angle of the shadow that was created as a result of the exploding flash bang allowed Hisashi to teleport himself to a new location, though not far from before. At least it would move him out of the path of the technique before it hit him. Since the Yamanaka used the technique, it would usually take some time for the soul to return to the body, leaving it helpless to abuse. Not to take chances, Hisashi remained within the shadows to watch. "Crap!" Shokujin thought as his spirit traveled back to his body, "That jutsu...looked like...the Fourth's!" His spirit finally reached his body and entered it. The pain from the damage the puppet had took was very noticeable. Shokujin came out of the dumpster and began to go towards the hotel, "Without a doubt, that was a Shadow Technique similar to the Nara clan's jutsu. I must be wary of it now." he thought out loud as he touched down outside the window. He then formed the Snake, Ram, Monkey, and Boar hand seals before whispering, "Fire Release: Mist Covering Technique.." and exhaling a large amount of flammable gas into the room. He then threw an explosive tag into the fog, which quickly detonated, causing all of the gas to erupt. The Escape When gas filled the room, Hisashi knew that his decision to hide was the correct one. The thing that attacked him was not the true threat, and Hisashi quickly fled the immediate area, jumping and breaking glass as the room behind him detonated from the explosive note. The town was awakened by the explosion, with civilians coming out to see what in the world was going on. Hisashi aimed to disappear into that crowd. If his pursuer decides to attack him, he'd be threatening the country's civilians too. There is the possibility of that Yamanaka being alive, since he knew of the tactics of some clansmen that used their mind transferring techniques on others that would then be used to attack, in order to hide one's tracks. If the Yamanaka was truly a shinobi of Konoha, he wouldn't dare openly injure Fire citizens. Shokujin followed from the building tops, "It'll be hard to get him now. I can't risk hurting the civilians. On the other hand, I also cannot fail the mission. I have to talk to this Nara, if that is what he is. He must be a deserter..a Missing-nin. Luckily, I have a jutsu that can knock these civilians out, allowing me to attack him freely again." he thought. He leaped over the crowd, forming more hand seals before shouting, "Magnetic Ninja Arts: Electric Phantasm!" Iron dust covered the crowd of people, stopping their brainwaves briefly, causing them to faint. People collapsed behind him as he moved quickly. Not good at all. He'd be discovered at this rate. Hisashi pulled out a scroll from within his cloak. Although he couldn't see the Yamanaka, if that was who was following him, he could prepare for the next move. With civilians awake and moving about the city (with the exception of those that were affected by the Electric Phatasm technique), the Fire shinobi has to worry about more than just himself. On the other hand, Hisashi was alone; if there were any Yorudō members within the area, it's not Hisashi's fault if said member was caught or killed. As he ran, Hisashi broke the seal on the scroll, holding the item loosely as he made his way towards the exit of the town. There is little point of remaining here, with the Konoha shinobi, which he was sure now since no civilians were hurt, capable of calling upon companions to hunt him down. If the Hokage ordered this, there will be much to discuss if the two meet. Shokujin took out two shuriken attached to several wires, "Even in this crowd, my skill with the Manipulated Shuriken Technique should allow me to catch him." he said, tossing the shuriken and manipulating them around the people and towards Hisashi with his Manipulated Shuriken Technique. The chaos made it difficult to hear the two shuriken approach. Hisashi was expecting a body to come out of hiding to confront him, thus only had a moment to notice the shuriken moving aobut before they were about to strike him. He turned about to face the shuriken, his eyes displaying surprise, and was thrown to the ground by the two shuriken finding its mark. He clutched the shuriken that found its mark, though the other, he managed to catch with his scroll. He felt wires attach the two shuriken, and quickly cut them before pulling out the shuriken from himself and his scroll. He threw them away and got to his feet with the intention to continue running. However it was too late. Shokujin landed right in front of Hisashi, and held his arms out and several kunai floated up in mid air, all pointed at Hisashi. The Manipulating Attack Blades Technique. "No where to run now." he mumbled as the kunai got closer to their target. The Chat Hisashi laughed as the assailant finally revealed himself. At last, the king showed its face. "Did the Hokage send you?" "Hokage-sama did indeed send me." he replied bluntly. The leader of the Yorudō gave a sigh. "I guess Konoha won't be seeing much of the Yorudō in the future, then. Anyways, how's the flower shop?" He did remember the shop from his past life, having stopped by several times, occasionally buying flowers for fallen comrades during the war. Then it clicked. "You're Shokujin Yamanaka, right? Toyed with shuriken a lot during the war – I didn't figure you'd turn it into a profession." Shokujin grinned, "Shuriken are my greatest strength. But you...in this form..I don't recognize you from the war. You're far too young. Unless..." he trailed off, remembering the younger ninja's jutsu from earlier, "Now I know where I've seen it! It's the Shadow Flicker Technique! But only Shikaki Nara could use that move, Hisashi isn't even of the Nara clan." "I guess the cat's out of the bag," Hisashi shrugged. The secret's bound to get out sooner or later. "I am Shikaki Nara, creator of the Shadow Flicker, brother of Shikaku Nara, and a hero of the Third World War. The Demon Fox's attacks was a setback, but I've returned." Despite all of this, he still knew that there were levitating kunai aimed at him. But he knew that his death was not what Shokujin was aiming for. The whole scene was screaming that fact. Shokujin's shock was evident, "Shikaki..." he stuttered, "Hokage-sama has to be informed of this. Hisashi is...Shikaki!" He quickly took out several smoke bombs and and tossed them at his feet, quickly ordering the kunai to attack as they all zeroed in on their target. Shokujin then took off towards the village entrance, "I can't continue this mission. I must report back to the village." "Do you think I'd let you off easily?" Hisashi was in front of the Konoha ninja, having easily evaded the kunai through his agility and the other's inability to properly coordinate the kunai shot at him through the smoke and through the use of the Shadow Flicker Technique. The other might be Yamanaka, but he was not Nara. He is Wakahisa. Again, Shadow Flicker was used, but this time to zero in on Shokujin, extending a hand towards the other's chest. "Shadow Blade Technique." Shadow extended from the palm of his hand, forming a rudimentary blade. but it was all he needed to impale the fleeing shinobi. Lightning erupted from Shokujin's body as he activated his Lightning Release Armor. The body activation granted by the Lightning Release Armor, allowed him the speed to dodge quickly. He then threw several lightning-enhanced shuriken at Hisashi. The blades struck nothing, and Hisashi quickly deactivated the technique to prepare for the retaliatory strike. A flourish of his scroll, and Hisashi summoned a simple wooden staff, which he used to repel the shuriken attack with great proficiency through the summoning smoke. He continuously spun his staff before him, waiting for the other to make his move. "Dang..that Lightning Release Armor takes a lot of chakra to use." he pondered, forming the Tiger seal. "I have to get away and tell the Hokage." He then brought his hands to his lips and declared, "Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!" and blew three large dragon flames at Hisashi. "With that technique I don't have any chakra left to do anymore moves, I've got to escape now!" he thought as he leaped into the woods, as the fire dragons closed in on Hisashi. As the dragons raced towards Hisashi, he gave a sigh. So much energy to activate such a technique... with such an inaccurate return. The explosion that occurred engulfed Hisashi, and his form disappeared in the resulting dust. Shokujin made his way deep into the woods, "Looks like I made it...Man, the Hokage is gonna get a kick out of this info." he thought as he vanished into the trees. The dust cleared, and Hisashi was still there, quite alive and unhurt. However, his clothes did get a little singed by the jutsu. "Once the Hokage knows, the world will know. They'll knew that Shikaki Nara returned from the dead, and my fame, or notoriety, will grow. Thank you for bringing me closer to my goal, Shokujin Yamanaka." Category:Collaborations by LaviBookman Category:Ten Tailed Fox Category:Role-Play